


Atsuko Universe

by Egungun



Category: Little Witch Academia, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, LWA, Little Witch Academia AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pink diamond Akko, Pink!Akko, Rivalry, Romance, Secret Identity, Secrets, lwa au, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27089515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egungun/pseuds/Egungun
Summary: Atsuko "Akko" Universe is the daughter of a musician, she decided to follow her dreams and get away from the problems her mother had caused when she was alive. Little does she know, that the problems and responsibility her mother enforced on her actually followed her to her new school. She had never gone to a place that was so densely populated with other humans, and not just any humans, they were all human peers. Saving her planet, she makes new friends and solves her family issues on the way.
Relationships: Atsuko "Akko" Kagari/Amanda O'Neill, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari/Amanda O'Neill
Comments: 17
Kudos: 48





	1. New Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, I'll continue writing this and all my other stories.

“So, what’s your name? Is puppet magic difficult? I tried to learn it using a mail-order kit but it was pretty hard to follow, I’m not even sure if I got the basics down. I’m Akko, by the way, Atsuko Universe, I wanna learn how to use magic just like Shiny Chariot-” A young Japanese girl explained, she has red eyes and long wavy brunette hair, she wore an orange trench coat over her navy blue loose turtleneck sweater, a pair of brown jean shorts and pair of red block heel ankle boots.

The girl now known as ‘Akko’ follows a gloomy-looking girl with mauve colored hair and dark crimson eyes, who’s clearly not interested in the Japanese girl’s life story. They arrive on top of a stone bridge, the brunettes still talking, the gloomy girl stops, turning around, she gives Akko her hand, “Nice to meet you!” the brunette happily shakes the offered limb and laughs. When Akko looked down at their hands, she found two very angry snakes coiled around her wrists, angrily hissing and preparing to strike. 

The gloomy girl smirked, this was one of her many ways to get rid of loud and obnoxious people who wanted to talk to her, she knew most people hate or are afraid of snakes, so obviously, a scrawny little Japanese girl would be horrified to see two very angry snakes, and would scream and run away, or better yet, fall over the bridge and into the river. She waited for the panic and scream from the brunette, but nothing happened, _ ‘she’s probably so scared to even move, I bet she would faint from fear any sec-’  _

“Oh, snakes,” Akko grabs them and throws them off the bridge, there wasn’t a single hind of fear, just a simple ‘oh’. “What kind of magic did you use? Was it illusion magic, or were you just keeping them under your robe? Oh no, were they your pets?” She just kept talking, instead of fearing snakes, this girl was actually getting worried if she threw them too hard. 

“Um, no… it was just illusion magic,” the girl was so confused about what exactly happened, she started talking without thinking. “Could you go off the road and stand on the patch of grass for a sec?” 

“Yeah, sure, I don’t see why not.” Akko walks over to the grass, she turns around and faces the other girl, “Now what?” 

The other girl takes out a green potion bottle and pours them on the grass, “Stay.” She simply states and walks away.  _ ‘There’s no way that she can escape now, much less move, that patch of grass is strong enough to hold down bears. What can she do, she just a nor-’  _ her thoughts were interrupted yet again by the sound of ripping rope, she hesitantly looks around and sees Akko, free as a bird, now easily skipping towards her. With a shocked expression, she thought to herself, _ ‘HOW THE HELL?! A single drop is more than enough to pin a freaking lion down, A LION! So, how the heck, did a petite little girl like her, get free, without even breaking a sweat.’  _ Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the girl faces the brunette and offers her hand again.

Akko looks at the hand and back to its owner, “Are you going to give me snakes again?” she asks, the mauve haired girl only shakes her head. Akko smiles and shakes the outstretched arm, and introduces herself once more, “I’m Atsuko Universe, but you can call me Akko. And you are?”

“Sucy, Sucy Manbavaran. From now on, you’re my guinea pig.” Sucy introduces herself, “Come, let's go.” she gestures to the confused girl. 

The two girls make their way to the Ley Line terminal, on their way, Sucy had explained that the terminal isn’t for busses but brooms. They also met a girl named Lotte Janson, the three girls entered the Ley Line to go to Luna Nova. 

“Wow, it’s just like a warp,” Akko said excitedly, she was currently riding on Lotte’s broom, while Sucy was on her own broom behind them.

“A warp? What’s tha-” Lotte was interrupted by the sudden tremor of the Ley Line. “Why is it so cranky?!” 

“Hey, Akko! Did you bring any salt? The Ley Line hates salinity.” Sucy exclaims from the back, dodging all the falling luggage. 

“Um… you think it’s this?” Akko pulled out a small sealed jar.

“What even is that?” Lotte questions.

“Pickled plums”

“Trouw it away!”

“But their perfectly good plums, can’t I just-” Their argument was interrupted by the sudden thrust, sending a card flying, “My most prized possession!” Akko leaned too far and fell off the broom, bumping into Sucy on her way down, the two girls were now falling off the Lay Line and Lotte joined them shortly after. 

As they all fell, Akko grabbed the two girls and hugged them, making a protective pink bubble around them. The bubble protected them from the fall and disappeared shortly after it made contact with the ground. Akko sighs in relief when they safely landed, and the fact that her two friends were unconscious when she used her power. “Ugh, that was too close,” stretching her arm, she reaches over and grabs her card and smiles, “Thank goodness you’re safe.”

“Can you be more pain in the neck?” Sucy groaned, slowly getting up from the brunette. “It seems as though we’ve arrived at our destination.”

“This is Luna Nova?” Akko asks, looking around, she asks again, “Then where is the ceremony at? Is it up ahead?”

“Mmm” Lotte grumbles as she comes to consciousness, “Where are we?” she asks, helping Akko up after getting up herself.

The three girls were surrounded by old and misshapen trees, they were in a forest full of dark and mysterious aura. “We are in the Arcturus Forest.” Sucy informs.

“Arcturus? Wait… you mean the forbidden forest?” Lotte asks, worriedly.

“Never heard of it.” Akko tells them.

“The Forest Of Arcturus, a holy place protected by magic trees and beasts, legends say, once lost, even a witch has trouble getting out.” Lotte shivers, her eyes getting teary. “Forget making it to the ceremony, we might be stuck here forever.”

“Come on, don’t be so negative, Lotte, we’ll find a way out.” Akko tries to calm her distressed friend down, “Oh look, there’s our missing luggage!” she happily exclaims, running down the hill, she collects her belongings, she sees her bag was on a purple flower and reaches out to get it.

“Akko, be careful, that’s a mandrake! Get away from it!” Lotte shouts, begging the brunette to come back.

Ignoring her friend's warning, Akko reaches forward and grabs her bag, petting the mandrake’s flower head, “Good boy, thanks for not attacking me.” she coos, and walks back to her friends like nothing happened, shocking them even more. 

“How the heck did you do that? Mandrakes are known to eat humans, how come you’re not dead?” Sucy queries. “And if you don’t mind, could you go and get me some of its seeds? Poison collectors are willing to sell an arm and a leg or even their own kids to get a seed, so I hope you understand how valuable they really are, so could you get me some?”

“Yeah, sure. Here, hold my stuff for a sec.” Akko gives them her luggage and walks back to the man-eating plant. The Mandrake bows and the flower head opens, it bends down over the girl’s hands, and over dozens of seeds drop in them. “Thanks, buddy,” she pets it’s head one more time before putting the seeds in her pockets, she says her farewells to the plant and walks back to her astonished friends. “Here you go, Sucy.” she gives the girl a dozen, and leaves herself five seeds. “Okay, let's go.”

“Say, Akko? Could you say or yell out ‘Kutchur Ketela Fulala’ be sure to yell it out from your gut.” Sucy orders.

Taking a deep breath, Akko yells out, “KUTCHUR KETELA FULALA!”

For a good second, there was absolute silence until the ground started to grumble, then from the horizon, a giant chicken's head popped out, it got closer to the three girls and loomed over them but it’s attention was solely on Atsuko, it was a body of an overgrown hen and giant green snake for a tail. 

“Um, Sucy, what exactly did the last spell do?” Akko audible gulped, fearing the worst. 

“You called it a stupid bird and now it wants to eat you. Good luck.” Sucy deadpans, as she prepares her broom and hovers off, slowly getting higher and higher, “The Cockatrice only exists in the Forest of Arcturus. It has a lethal toxin in its feathers and it’s highly sought after by poison collectors, so go ahead and draw its attention while I remove some feathers.” 

“Wait, are we supposed to be decoys?!”

“Sacrifices actually!” Sucy corrects Akko, as she flyers behind the Cockatrice, “Oh yeah, you should probably make sure that it doesn’t breath on you because you’ll turn into stone.” she warns. 

The hybrid chicken tries to peck them, but the two girls barely manage to escape, now being chased by an overgrown chicken, they run, run like there’s no tomorrow, at this point, it sure looks like it. 

Sucy manages to pluck a feather, but by doing so, she draws the bird's attention to herself, she is now dodging the barrage of stone breaths and other attacks. During their run, Lotte had tripped and had gotten hurt, Akko was now helping her climb a hill, “We can’t give up after going this far, I won’t give up. My story is about to begin, extend your hand, adventure awaits, my heart is pounding, and my head is spinning, but I will become a witch!” she proudly claims. 

Finally reaching the top, the two girls saw a shining staff with seven green gems embedded into it, Akko eyes widened in realization, “Hey, that's… I know that wand anywhere!” she hears a roar, turning around, she sees Sucy dodging a stone breath from the cockatrice, she turns back around and grabs the wand, “Lotte, stay there and hide!” She takes a deep breath and yells once more,  “KUTCHUR KETELA FULALA!” and starts to run.

Akko turns around, expecting the cockatrice chasing her, but to her dismay, the bird was preparing to attack her other friend, Lotte. Cursing under her breath, she runs back.

  
  
  


* * *

A young blue-haired professor, known as Ursula Callistis, was looking around the Arcturus Forest for the three Luna Nova students. Back in her room, she had a distressed signal in the Ley Lines, when she checked it, she had figured out that three girls had been shot out from it when they were making their way to the school. Her eyes widen at the sight of a Cockatrice preparing to attack a student, she leans closer to her broom to get extra speed, she’s getting closer and closer, but she wasn’t fast enough, she Cockatrice had already breathed on the girl when she came. “No no, I was too late...” 

When the snake cleared, there was a pink bubble and inside were two girls, Akko nervously laughed, “Man, what is wrong with all these close calls,” she muttered to herself, she got up and helped Lotte stand up, “You alright?”

“Y-yeah, I think so, how did- how did you do this?” Lotte asks, a bit shaken. 

“I’ll explain later,” Akko promises, she then turns around and glares at the Cockatrice, dropping her protective bubble, she starts to walk towards the magic beast “I should have dealt with you sooner,” she jumps high up in the air, getting eyes level with the beast and makes a miniature bubble on her right fist, she then does something that blows everyone's minds away, she punches the cockatrice between the eyes, knocking it out cold, and gently hovers down to the ground, shortly after the unconscious bird falls. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s find a way to go to Luna Nova.” 

“Are- are you girls alright?” The blue-haired professor asks, hesitantly, getting closer to the two girls.

“Professor Ursula!” Lotte happily exclaims, “We’re so happy to see you, I thought that we might be trapped here forever.” 

“No need to worry, Miss Janson, I’ll escort the three of you back to school,” Ursula reassures, sending a gentle smile to the girl. 

Sucy had descended with the professor, she looked weary at the brunette, narrowing her eyes and asks, “Are even human?” that question had drawn in the attention of the other two witches, as they all stared at the brunette girl, waiting for her answer. 

“If asking if I have human blood then, yes, but partially. I’m half-human, and the other half is… a gem, it’s better to show you.” Akko lifts her sweater and shows the three witches her lower abdomen, she had a bright pink gemstone in the place where her belly button is supposed to be. “Um… please don’t tell anyone.” 

The three witches merely nod, that’s when the professor realized that the brunette was holding a rod, a rather familiar-looking wand. Ursula tells Akko to use the rod, she helps the girl receipt the spell, and the rod morphs into a magic bow. Shooting an arrow, a Ley Line appeared, as the witches rode their brooms through it. 

  
  
  


* * *

“Welcome back everyone, I hope you all had a good holiday. Luna Nova has nurtured many girls to become great witches over the years, within these walls, you must devote yourselves to the study of magic with great determination, but remember to stay humble and be respectful. And now that's been said, let us begin the ce-” the headmistress's speech was interrupted by a sudden puff of smoke.

“Alright! I made it in time!” Cheered a voice withing the smoke, emerging from it was Akko, cheering and laughing, while everyone just stared at the mysterious brunette and her companions, amongst the confusion, Ursula quickly and quirky took her place among the Luna Nova staff. 

  
  
  


* * *

“Despite your little outburst at the opening ceremony, the principle still allowed your admission under special consideration, it’s not something that's done often, you should be extremely thankful.” The old professor lecture, known as Anne Finnelan, she had brown hair which was in a tight bun under her which’s hat and blue eyes.

Quietly following the old professor, Akko could only let out a meek “yes, ma’am.” Knocking on a wooden door, professor Finnelan opens the door, “Say hello to your new roommates.” Akko got a pleasant surprise, seeing both Lotte and Sucy sitting Inside the room, “Listen carefully, girls, for the next three years, we will be giving especially strict guidance to the three of you,” the professor informs, and closes the door, leaving the three girls inside. 

“Wow, how lucky is that we all get to share a room.” Akko gleefully comments.

The girls exchanged some small talks and unpacked, arranging who gets to sleep where, and went to bed. Akko lied down on her bed and took out her contact lenses, revealing a pair of pink irises with white diamond-shaped pupils, instead of her normal red eyes. ‘I’ll have to explain to them later, for now, I’m too tired.’ she thought to herself, before finally letting herself in the gentle embrace of sleep.

  
  
  



	2. "Magic"

Akko woke up, looking around, she lightened up, “Oh, that’s right!” Getting up, she fumbled under her bed and took out the staff, pure glee lit up in the girl, as she hugged it, “The Shiny Rod! It wasn’t a dream after all.” Standing up and looking at the window, “I’m finally at an actual school, and a highly esteemed one at that!” 

“Why are you so excited about going to school anyway?” Sucy asks across from the room, shocking the brunette, who wasn’t aware that the other girl was awake.

Calming down, Akko sat back on her bed, “I’ve never gone or been to school, I only have a vague idea of what it could be like,” she did a nervous laugh, scratching her head, “That’s why I’m so excited, and nervous too I guess.”

“Well, you’ll understand why everyone hates school after your first day, and as a bonus, your mental health will suffer.” Seeing her friend’s disturbed face, Sucy sighs, “But hey, on the bright side, you’ll only undergo the suffering for three years, no biggie.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Lotte yawned, rubbing her eyes, awoken by her two roommates' talking. Putting on her glasses, she took a good look at her teammates, she then stared at Akko a bit too long, squinting a little bit, “What happened to your eyes, Akko?” 

Sucy turned around from her potions and also stared at the brunette, confused as to what Lotte asked, “Now that you mention it, why are your eyes pink? And your pupils, they’re white? I haven’t started my experiments on you yet, what happened, why aren’t they red?”

Confused from all the attention she got from her new friends, Akko turned around and looked at her reflection from the mirror, her eyes widened from realization, “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys yesterday. This is my actual eye color, I got it from my mom. Since no one has diamond-shaped pupils, I wore brown contacts to cover it, for some reason the brown and pink clashed and made it look like I have red eyes.”

“Makes sense, but are you planning on continuing using contacts? It looks pretty if you’re worried about looks.” Lotte asked.

“For now at least, I’ve never been anywhere that has more than twenty people, max, so this whole school and peer thing is kinda new to me. I’ll stop using them when I get more… comfortable,” Akko admits, putting on her brown eye lenses. Going to a school is also one of her ways of preparing herself to become a performer. 

“Well, we should start getting dressed or we’ll be late for class.” Lotte warned, climbing down her bunk.

“Let’s go!” Akko happily exclaimed, she excitedly put her clothes on. The uniform she wore consisted of a long navy blue hooded tunic-styled robe with a hidden pocket in each sleeve, a pointed hat, stockings, and long boots along with the same ribbon sash. “Yeah! Transformation complete! The fight is on.”

“I don’t know what ‘fight’ you’re talking about, but that uniform is for ceremonies and training,” Lotte informs, gesturing to the uniform she wore herself, “This one is for a normal class.”

Akko visibly deflated, “But that one is so boring.” 

Lotte ignores the brunette’s and bends over the table, scanning through the books they have, “Our classes are Magic Linguistics, then it’s Magic Pharmaceutics and Magic Numerology.” she finishes off by taking out the books for her classes.

Taking her own books, Akko looks down at the books, “First day of school, I’m gonna live my dream.” 

The three girls then leave their dorm room and make their way to their first class. On their way, Akko kept checking out her uniform, “Hmm, what a plain uniform, but I’ll guess it’ll do. I can’t wait to see what an actual class is gonna be like, my heart is pounding from the excitement.” 

  
  


* * *

“These Luna Runes are the ancient character system used by witches long ago, they are a titled segmental script.” The magic linguistic professor, known as professor Finnelan, explained, as multiple green symbols of moon shapes appeared on the board. “Is there anyone in the class read the letters on the board?” she asks. 

Only two hands rose from the silent crowd, Akko’s was the first to raise her hand, so the professor’s attention was on her, “Is there something you want to ask, Miss Universe?” Finnelan asks. 

“I just, I know what’s writing on the board,” Akko timidly answers, she feels a bit awkward as all the students were now staring at her, even the other girl who raised her hand with her. 

The professor raised an eyebrow, “Well then, proceed, Miss Universe.” 

Apprehensively, Akko stood up, taking a deep breath, she read “Bless the one who lets this stone remain untouched, woe betides the one who moves it.” Akko finishes reading, leaving everyone in the class in awe and surprise. 

“Well done, Miss Universe, in all my years as a teacher, you’re the first students to decipher this, I expect great things from you,” professor Finnelan praises her with a rare smile on her face. 

Akko merely bows and sits back down, Lotte quietly whispers to her, “How do you know about the Lunar Scripts, Akko?” 

Akko whispers back, “Pear taught me about it when I was twelve, she’s also a gem like my mom if you were wondering.”

The remainder of the class went by without a hitch, the next class they had were Magic Pharmaceutics, where the teacher mixed potions and lectured, the whole classroom was filled with a putrid smell, only the pharmaceutics’s professor, professor  Lukić, and the red team’s Sucy were the ones who instead, enjoyed the deadly scent. The following class was Magic Numerology, where honestly, Akko couldn’t understand anything, to look like she was doing something, she would copy everything the little coconut headed teacher, professor Badcock, said, words for word. While Akko was profusely writing what the teacher said, Sucy was mixing some kind of potion, she then poured it on the girl’s head, who was too focused to even notice, her small high pony then turned into a small green plant. 

Now that the morning class was over, the students of Luna Nova were at the cafeteria talking and enjoying their lunches, which were mostly potatoes. “I don’t get it! I thought that school is going to be fun and exciting, but instead, they were all boring. How am I supposed to learn anything if I’m bored to death!” Akko whined, showing some of her food into her mouth, “It’s nothing like I’ve imagined. How did Shiny Chariot learn to do all of her cool magic spells in a place like this?”

“Shiny Chariot’s magic is frowned upon in Luna Nova, she’s a disappointment.” A platinum blond-haired girl walks from behind Akko, “Miss Universe, is that right? You’re new here, aren’t you?” she asks.

Akko swallows the food in her mouth before responding, “Just call me Akko, you were the girl who raised your hand with me in linguistics, aren’t you?” 

The platinum blond straightens up her posture more and introduces herself, “My name is Diana Cavendish, honestly, I was quite impressed when you read the script correctly.” 

An auburn-haired girl popes up, “You really don’t know who Diana is? Have you just been living under a rock or something?” another girl but with black hair shows up, “It’s been said that she’s the best in up and coming witch in the whole history of Luna Nova,” the two girls added smugly. 

Diana then continued, “In any case, I’ll impart some friendly advice to you, no one here respects Chariot, so stop thinking of her as a role model, she’s a has-been.”

“That’s not true at all, Shiny Chariot has fans all over the world, her magic was super popular.” Akko loudly declared. 

“I’ll admit, the show that she put on was incredibly popular for a time, but really, her shows were just a series of cheap parlor tricks that were inevitably doomed to fail. It’s been ten years since Chariot quit her show and disappeared into the shadows, and it doesn’t even seem like anyone really cares about whatever it is she’s doing now.” Diana and her goonies turned around and started to walk away. 

Akko quickly stood up, “I care, Chariot helped show me what I really wanted to be, that I was more than just a replacement for my mother,” Diana visibly tenses up, “I have to find her, so I can give her back the Shiny Rod.” 

Diana calms down and raises a skeptical eyebrow, “The Shiny Rod, huh. If you truly have the staff, then why won't you prove it?”

* * *

Almost all the students in the cafeteria went to the courtyard to follow the red and blue teams. Akko had gone back to her dorm and brought the rod to the courtyard, she proudly presented it to the blue team. Diana took a close inspection of the staff, “An obvious imitation.” 

Akko angrily stated, “This is the real deal!”

The black-haired girl, Barbara, teased, “Did you bring this toy for show and tell?” the other girl, Hannah, also mocked, “Did you spend your allowance on it?”

“Fine, I’ll prove it to you.” Akko huffed, stepping in front of the stone statue. 

“Are you sure about this?” Lotte asked her friend, worriedly. 

“Yes, I’m sure, either you believe me or not,” Akko stated, “Oh Shiny Rod, perform the miracle you showed before. Move Stone Statue!” she yelled the last part out.

There were a few seconds of tense silence, then the courtyard burst out in laughter, not the joyous, lighthearted one, but one of full mockery and malice, only a handful of students felt pity for the brunette. Akko kept trying and trying, begging the statue to move, but that only poured fuel into the fire, as the laughter seemed to get louder and louder. 

Getting enough of the pitiful display of Akko’s ‘magic,’ Diana casts her spell, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the stone statue, she shouts “Ansolew Airo!” 

An ethereal green light shot out of her wand, as it enraptured the stone statue. The statue opened its eyes and loomed over Akko, reaching its arm over to the frightened brunette, trying to pull out the small weed growing on the girl’s head, but the anticipated moment where the stone giant was supposed to pull the small plant, didn’t come. With wide eyes, all the students watched the display in front of them, even Diana and her haughty teammates, who ceased their laughter instantly. In Front of them was Akko, tense and still as a bolder, as a bright pink sphere protected her from the stone statues touch, while the plant on her head quickly wilted and fell off of her head. Since the statue itself could not do as it was ordered, it went back to its original state.

Whispers and murmurs filled the space, “Did you see that?” “She didn’t use the wand!” “What spell did she use?” “Did she just cast a spell without a wand and an incantation?” Calming down, Akko dropped her protective bubble, _ ‘Ah, dammit, now everyone knows.’  _ she thought to herself. 

“Oh my, what a commotion.” A voice drew the students in, they all turned around to see who it was, and it was none other than the Headmistress herself, walking towards Akko and Diana with the two professors, Finnelan and Ursula. “In all my years as the headmistress, I see all kinds of magic, but I’ve never seen or even heard of the one you just used, Miss Universe.” the headmistress comments. “Indeed, you didn’t even use a wand or a chant. Where on Earth did you learn such magic?” professor Finnelan asks.

‘It’s not on Earth’“I got it from my… mom.” Akko awkwardly answers. 

“Well, it was truly a nice demonstration but we need to go on our way, have a nice day girls,” the headmistress turned around and addressed Diana, “Miss Cavendish, could we steal you for a moment?” 

Snapping out of her stupor, Diana straightened her posture and responded, “Yes, certainly, lead the way, headmistress.” The professors and the blue team shortly left, as the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving behind the red team. 

  
  


* * *

“It’s been ten years since she disappeared, huh. I wonder what Chariot is doing right now.” Akko quietly murmured to no-one in particular, as she lays down each and every one of her cards in her collection on the ground. 

“It doesn't seem like anybody even knows where to find her.” Lotte tries to console her friend, “Akko, was it hard to find all those cards in your collection?”

“Yeah, they were hard to come by when I was little. Back then, Shiny Chariot was really popular,” Akko gives off a gentle smile, reminiscing about her past, “I remember when I was twelve, my dad and I went to every store we could find to get this one premium card, but as you can see, no luck. I really wanted it, we got so desperate, I even went up to Garnet and asked her. She said that it's impossible, but, she also said that no one's future is written in stone, so there is a chance that I can get my hands on it… someday.”

Lotte and Sucy were about to say something but was interrupted by a sudden tremor, as large roots burst out from the ground, the girls quickly stood up and followed it to the source. 

  
  


* * *

“The Jenifer memorial tree, it is said to have inherited the will of the Great Witch Jenifer, it’s sacred to Luna Nova.” Diana explained to her two teammates. The three girls finished setting up the stones, “I’m going to try revitalization magic. This spell will give the tree powerful nutrients that will grant it new life, it’s a secret technique handed down by my family for generations.” Drawing out her wand, Diana closes her eyes and casts her spell, “Louperia Ral!”

Multiple balls of light shot from the tip of the wand, hitting the stones that circled the tree, magic light enrapturing the whole tree, healing the damaged trunk and branches, growing healthy green leaves. 

Opening her eyes, Diana smiles, pleased that her spell worked, “It seems all the nutrients have soaked in.”

“You’re so amazing Diana” Hannah praised.

“Come on, let’s go tell the professors!” Barbara announced, soon the two ran out of the garden, squealing. 

The moment the two girls left, the ground from underneath Diana cracked, and shortly, the ground started to shake and tremor, roots started to burst out from beneath the ground. From the hallway, Diana heard multiple footsteps, getting closer and closer, she turned to see who it was, and her eyes widened, it was that pretty and mysterious girl, along with her teammates. “Get away from here!” she ordered, she couldn’t afford any more distractions. 

“Do you know why this is happening?” Akko retorted, barely managed to avoid the root that came her way. 

As more and more roots burst out of the ground, the girls saw that there were greenish-yellow pods on the roots of the tree. “They’re parasites! That has to be why the tree got so sick.” The roots started to lose their color, as the parasites grew. “Then All my spell did was give nutrients to these vermin instead of the tree itself, they have to be stopped!” Diana pulls out her wand and casts a spell, “Murowa!” A light green glow shoots out of the girl’s wand, the moment it hits its target, the cocoon gets fried, leaving behind a sad gray-colored sack. Diana kept casting the spell over and over, “Murowa! Murowa!” frying the cocoons left and right.

“Mu-” “Hold on, Diana!” Akko jumps in front of the said girl’s wand, arms widespread in a protective stance, “They are not that bad after all!”

“You’re in the way, move!”

“Make me!”

Diana’s eye twitched, she turned around and casts a spell at another cocoon, “Murowa!”

Akko glowed pink and at an inhuman speed, she appeared in front of the other cocoon, taking the spell right in the chest. The force of the spell made her stumble a bit, but it was enough force for her contacts to fall off. It sent small currents of electricity through her body, it wasn’t painful per se, just weird, like how sometimes your arm or leg falls asleep, but this time, the feeling goes through your whole body. 

“Akko! Are you alright?” Diana asked, worriedly. The moment her spall made contact with the brunette’s body, she felt pure dread, so she bolted straight to the stunned girl, who was surprisingly still conscious, “I-I didn’t mean to -” Diana starts to apologize but when she made eye contact with Akko, her words died in her throat when she was met with the most beautiful yet bizarre-looking eyes, bright pink orbs, decorated with white diamond-shaped pupils.

“Hey, hey, I’m okay, I know you didn’t mean to, believe it or not, I’ve felt worse, so it’s totally fine,” Akko gave a kind smile, her body stopped glowing pink as she pulled out one of her cards, showing it to Diana, “I think those things are Pappiliodya pupae. I’m sure of it, Pappiliodya hatches once every one hundred and twenty years. It’s a magic butterfly that gives hope to those who see it.” The Shiny Rod that was on Akko’s belt started to glow. 

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the glowing wand, Akko picked it up and held it in her hands, she was just silently staring at the wand as if she could understand it, then she looks straight at Diana, grabbing one of her hands and placing the Shiny Rod on it, she spoke, “Diana, you need to cast the spell on the card with the Shiny Rod.”

“W-what, I’m not-”

“Please, you need to, you are the only person who can use it right now.” Akko explains, the grip lightly squeezes Dina’s hand, sending heat to the blonde’s face. 

“Alright,” Diana sighs, holding the Shiny Rod with two hands, she felt kinda disappointed when Akko let go of her, taking a deep breath and releasing it, she then casts, “Papillio Fillio Nymphodya.” 

The pupae absorbed the magic that was released from the Shiny Rod, growing bigger and bigger until it starts to crack open, bursting from within, golden humanoid butterflies emerges out one by one, taking flight to the sky. 

The four girls all look at the butterflies in wonder, enchanted by the beauty. Diana looks down at the destroyed pupae, feeling guilty for her actions, the grip on the rod tighten in frustration, suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Akko, “It’s gonna be okay, but I need you to keep a secret for me, can you do that?” Confused by the weird question, Diana only nodded. Her answer seems to satisfy the brunette as she gives one of her charming smiles to Diana, she watched as Akko started making her way towards the six fried pupae.

Akko bends down and picks up one of the pupae in her arms, ‘Please work,’ she then leaves a gentle peck on the shell. The Pupae glows in a gentle shade of pink - much like her real eyes - from it, emerges out the same beautiful butterfly but this one was pink. It fluttered near Akko and bows, before leaving to join the rest of its kind. Akko smiles and does the same to the remaining five, and much like the first one, the rest also bowed to Akko, showing their gratitude before leaving.

“Akko, what ar-” “Oh my, how lovely.” Diana’s question was interrupted - much to Akko’s delight- by the headmistress.

“Diana restored the Memorial tree with her magic, she’s really amazing.” Barbara and Hannah both gushed, showering the blonde with their praises.

“I wasn’t -” “Yeah, Diana was so amazing, you should have seen her,” Akko cuts in, preventing the British witch from telling the truth, she walks closer to her and whispers to her ear, “I need you to keep this a secret between the four of us, can you do that for me, Diana, please?” getting a hesitant nod as an answer, Akko turned around and looks at the Headmistress apologetically, “Sorry Headmistress Holbrooke, but me and my team have to go -” 

“Oh dear, what happened to your eyes, Akko?” Holbrooke asks in worry.

“My eyes?”

Hannah looks at Akko and squints, “I haven’t noticed but, yeah, your eyes are like really pink, weren't they red before?”

“D-did the contacts fall off?!” Akkoo panicked, frantically looking around. Her search came to a stop when she felt the multiple eyes staring at her, waiting for her to explain everything, *Sigh* “I wore contacts to hide my eyes, because of its abnormality.”

“Well, you don’t need to worry about those kinds of things here, dearie. At Luna Nova, we accept everyone, we strictly forbid discrimination, so there’s no need for you to worry.” The headmistress puts a comforting hand on Akko’s shoulder, smiling kindly.

“Thank you.” Akko gives a teary smile. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. New Friends

Throughout the night, Akko couldn't sleep well, she would hear random voices, whispers, and talk, seeking her attention, but it was too far to understand. She had a dream where, she was walking through a field of grass and flowers, in the distance, she would hear voices and echoes, no matter how hard or how fast she ran, the source of such voices could never get closer.

Akko woke up with a light frown on her face, “That was… annoying.” She sat up and rubbed her eye, looking at the alarm clock that sat on the table, it read 11:39 pm.,  _ ‘Well, nothing like a goodnight stroll won’t fix, right?’ _

Walking through the abandoned halls of Luna Nova, Akko found peace, sure the day time was fun and active, but at night, it’s quiet and tranquil. Today was her first ever day at a school, a lot of things happened, some good and some bad, but the best thing was for her is to be accepted, not just as a student but as a person, a person known as Atsuko Universe, not the “human” or her least favorite, Rose quartz’s daughter, her successor. Sighing, Akko found herself in the New Moon tower, she then heard that voice again, the one she kept hearing in her dream. She frantically looked around, searching for the owner of the mysterious voice, “Who are you? Show yourself, or selves.”

_ ‘Here... over here...’  _ a jumble of voices mumbled, Akko followed the voice and looked up, her eyes widened in surprise, the person, or more specifically, the being that called for Akko was… the Sorcerer’s Stone. 

“I-It can’t be...” Akko’s legs got weaker, she stared at the floating magic stone in shock, “You’re a gem,” she felt sick, “you’re one of the cluster gem prototypes… aren’t you?”

_ ‘Someone’s here…’  _ the Sorcerer’s Stone blinked twice before going back to its normal state.

Turning around, Akko saw a familiar head of hair, slowly getting up the stairs, pink orbs met azure blue, “You do realize that you’re way past curfew, correct?”

“Aren’t we in the same boat, Diana?” Akko inquired, raising a questioning eyebrow. 

“Sorry to disappoint, but no, I was actually on patrol when I saw a certain someone walking around,” Diana said, crossing her arms over her chest, “And why are your eyes glowing?”

“... Are they now? Huh, I didn’t notice...” Akko sighed and shifted her gaze at the horizon, her glowing stops and reverts back to her normal skin tone.

After a few seconds of silence, Diana spoke again, “The Shiny Rod, if I truly am the chosen one, then, how were you able to use it?” she stared at Akko, waiting for her answer. 

“Would you believe me if I say that the rod and I are the same?” Akko looked back at the Brit, “Tell me, Diana, have you noticed the 7 small gems embedded in the Shiny Rob?”

“It’s quite hard not to, but how is that connected to you?” 

“Simple, those small gems used to be… well, gems. Seven gem shards from seven different gems, but don’t mistake them from any rock you’re used to, because just like my mother, and Garnet, and the other Crystal Gems, they used to have a life, they would walk, talk, and even cry…. before they were shattered, and now, they’re trapped and used as a tool, just like how Lapiz once did.” There was a hint of sadness in Akko’s eyes, she then averted her gaze from Diana’s and looked at the  Sorcerer's Stone. It glowed a bit brighter at the touch of the brunette. “And since I am part gem, it wouldn't be a surprise as to why I can wield the Rod, now is it?”

“... You said that these ‘gems’ are trapped, then, is there a way for us to set them free? Is there some sort of ritual we must perform, or do we just pull-” Diana was cut off by a chuckle, she looked at Akko questioningly. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, but if we just removed the shards, then there will be random limbs wiggling around all over the floor.” Akko walks over to Diana and gently grabs her hand, which was curled into a fist, nails digging into her palm. “Please, remember that they are shattered into hundreds of pieces, so the only way to truly free them is to unlock all the words, but don’t rush yourself, they’re patient, so don’t push yourself.” She gently revealed the girl’s palm and left a small kiss on it, healing it. “Okay?”

Flustered from the sudden action, Diana gave a meek nod, taking her hand back and inspecting it. With wide eyes, she looked up at Akko, “How did-”

“Healing spit, remember?”

With a kind smile, Akko continued, “Well, it’s getting late, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Diana.” she turned away and left, leaving her new friend behind.

“Nigh…”

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

High up in the New Moon tower, the young witches in training waited for their professor’s instruction. “Listen up, this is your first time flying on school grounds. This is just a test drive, so watch out for your speed. Every year some idiot tries to show off, so be cautious of speeding fools.”

After the speech was finished, students one by one jumped off the tower before casting their spell. Despite going on countless missions with the Gems, Akko for some reason was getting nervous. She could feel her doom slowly but surely creeping up at her, then, in a blink of an eye, it was her turn to fly her broom. “Okay, when you get to the other side, just wait. Now go.”

Unbeknown to her, a certain platinum haired girl was looking at her. Taking a deep breath, Akko yelled out the spell and jumped as high as she could, and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes once she didn’t hear anyone or anything, she thought that the young witches would chat away when they were flying but it was strangely quiet. But her eyes were open, she didn’t see anyone. She frantically looked around and suddenly, the realization hit her, shakingly looking down, she saw that she was thousands of feet off the ground and that her fellow peer looked like small ants from the height she was looking at. 

And being the clumsy girl she is, she accidentally dropped her broom. Now, she was just up in the sky, drifting down slowly at a snail's pace. 

Lotte was worried when she saw your broom fall to the ground but calmed down once Sucy pointed out the one crucial piece of information. And that was, that Akko wasn’t falling, but in fact, floating amongst the clouds. At this point, both teacher and students were looking at her in complete shock, not knowing how to get her down. They couldn’t fly up there themselves because she was too high up, they couldn’t use magic because, A, she didn’t have her broom, and B, she was out of reach. So, there was only one option left, and that was, to wait for the brunette to get close enough for either professor Nelson or Diana to pick her up.

Taking her chances, Diana flew up to see just how far the magic provided by the Sorcerer’s Stone can reach. Surprisingly, she kept flying higher and higher, and in a minute or two, she had reached the floating brunette. 

“Hey, fancy seeing you here, you come here often?” Akko jokes. 

“No, but judging by how calm you are, I’d say you’re quite familiar with this area.” Diana playfully scoffed. The two giggled, she then gently pulled the pink-eyed girl onto her broom. She couldn’t help but think how nice and right it felt when the girl behind her wrapped her slender arms around her waist.

As the two girls slowly flew down towards the ground, Akko couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, Diana.” Said girl hummed in response, “Are we friends?”

“I don’t know.” The girl simply answered, “But I won’t be against the thought.”

“Then that makes us friends.” Akke sweetly smiles and rests her head on the Brit’s shoulder. The simple action was enough to make a speck of pink hue dust upon Diana’s cheeks, making her whole form slightly stiffen. 

There was a comfortable silence, the gentle breeze brushing against their hair and face, the beautiful view of the school makes a pleasing atmosphere between the two. Akko tightened her grip and turned to the side, hiding her frown from any prying eyes.

  
  
  
  


* * *

“I was wondering if my broom was ready.”

Akko left the ginger at the cash register to look around the magic item’s cafe. There were many interesting things around the shop. While looking around, she spotted a small round mirror with a blue gem on the back, that was a bit cracked. She closely inspected the little tool when suddenly she heard rustling and a loud yell.  _ ‘GET ME OUT HERE!’ _

Akko whipped her head toward the voice and saw a red broom in a metal cage, trashing and shaking. She cautiously walked towards it and reached out before saying, “Hey, calm down… I’ll let you out.” 

The moment her hand touched the broom, it visibly calmed down. _ ‘Can you understand me?’ _

“Yeah, I do. What’s your name, I’m Atsuko Universe.” She gently whispers, hoping only the broom can hear her. 

_ ‘I’m Ruby.’ _

“Well, Ruby, can you tell me how you ended up here?”

_ ‘There’s nothing else to do so why not… I was guarding my assigned Sapphire, but we got caught in the middle of the war. I managed to escape but my Sapphire wasn’t so lucky, and as punishment, Blue Diamond ordered the peridots to turn me into something more ‘useful’.’  _ The broom groaned.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Akko frowned, “What will you do once I get you out of here? Are you planning on revenge?”

_ ‘Against a Diamond? Hah, I’ll be shattered, only a clod would do such a thing… I just wanna be free, fly around without a care in the world, ya know.’  _

“That... would be nice...” Akko sighed, knowing that not all deceive freedom.

“Hey, how are you doing that?” The sudden voice made the girl yelp in surprise, she turned around and saw the shop owner. 

“Sorry?” 

“Sorry for startling you kid, but I was asking how you were able to stop the crazy broom. I’ve had this thing for ages and no matter what I do, it would just thrash around.” The shopkeeper ripped the back of his neck. Then, an idea popped in his head as he looked at the teen with hopeful eyes. “Hey, how about I see you this thing, it’ll be a huge weight off my back and plus, this thing seems to be calm around you, so it’s a plus-plus situation. What would ya say, do we have a deal?”

“Sure, I would also like to buy that mirror too, if you don’t mind.” Akko pointed to the small mirror on the shelf. 

“Heh, knock yourself out.” He looked at the mirror and looked back at Akko, raising a questioning eyebrow, “But, are you sure about that? Yeah, sure, that mirror used to be magic but it’s broken now, I was actually planning on getting rid of it.”

“Oh, you don’t need to don’t need to that, I’ll take it either way.” Akko waved her hands.

“Hmm, okay, I’ll sell you broom and you can just get the mirror, since it’s broken and all.” The shopkeeper fished out the keys for the chains and handed it to the girl, “ Since no one else other than you can touch it, much less calm it down, I’ll sell it for 500 pounds for you.”

Akko took out her wallet and handed the money to the man, “Um, when can I get the broom?”

“You can take it now if you want. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go attend to my new customer over there.” The man excused himself and left.

Making sure that the man was out of earshot, Akko turned to the now stable broom and smiled, “Did you hear that, Ruby? You’ll be able to leave with me. Isn’t that great?”

_ ‘Are you kidding me? This is fantastic! You have no idea how long it’s been since the last time I flew, This is going to be so freaking awesome!’  _ The broom rattled a bit.

Akko received a long wooden box from the shop owner and put the broom in it after taking it out of the metal cage. She then put the mirror inside her pocket, securing it before leaving the shop with Lotte. 

  
  
  


Unbeknown to the brunette, there was a dark figure listening in to their conversation. The figure had fiery red hair with emerald green eyes, to her, the whole exchange between Akko and the broom had piqued her interest. 


End file.
